Photo By Dawn Grimes | Naval Station Guantanamo Bay Firefighters Odane Cranston, left, Andre Gardner, Lt....... read more read more
9-1-1. What is your Emergency?
Travis L. Mills, Fire Department, Assistant Chief for Operations
(Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba) “9-1-1. What is your emergency?” Every medical response typically begins with an often frantic call placed to a Fire & Emergency Services dispatch center. At Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (NSGB), a myriad of issues may result in an emergency call ranging from a child falling off a bicycle to an ill-feeling adult or a serious immediate health need.
Until recently, first responders consisting of Emergency Medical Responder Firefighters assigned to one of four stations, were dispatched along with two Corpsmen from the Naval Medical Readiness Training Command Guantanamo Bay, Emergency Department (NMRTC GB, ED). The two entities service the installation with approximately 6,000 residents of various cultures including Jamaica, the Philippines, and the United States.
Now, calls will be answered by firefighters who have been trained beyond basic Emergency Medical Responder. The NSGB Fire Department and NMRTC GB have begun training together to raise Firefighters to Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) certification. What makes this so special and newsworthy? Because the entire operational staff, except for Fire Department Assistant Chiefs, are all foreign nationals from Jamaica!
At the beginning of February, four NSGB firefighters became the first foreign national students to attend the credentialed five week National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians course taught by NMRTC GB nurses, physicians, specialist and other paramedics from different commands on base.
It was the third time lead instructor, Lt. Krista MacMurray, USN, a nurse assigned to the NMRTC GB ED, has taught the class. “It was really a unique class, because unlike corpsmen who I’ve taught, firefighters’ only medical training is Emergency Responder Training.” MacMurray continued, “I reviewed all of the lessons and drills because I also wanted to make sure there wasn’t a language barrier for them.” She concluded, “Ultimately, they were so motivated that they truly excelled despite extra challenges beyond the rigor of this course.”
Students are drill tested in six different areas: Patient Assessment / Management Trauma; Patient Assessment / Management Medical; Ventilation of an Adult Patient with Difficulty Breathing; Oxygen Administration by a Non-Rebreather Mask; Cardiac Arrest Management with an Artificial External Defibrillator; Supine Spinal Immobilization and one of Bleeding Control /Shock Management, Joint Immobilization, Seated Spinal or Long Bone Immobilization. A course written final examination of 150 questions is required for EMT certification.
To date, the pilot program has proven highly successful. According to Lt. Jg. Elizabeth Abimbola Department Head, Staff Education and Training, NMRTC GB, the overall exam scores were higher than previous EMT classes at NSGB. “This class was clearly committed to learning.” Abimbola said. “They really wanted this certification and it showed in their test scores.”
NMRTC GB is planning to continue EMT training on a quarterly basis.
| Date Taken: | 03.05.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 03.09.2021 13:08 |
| Story ID: | 390936 |
| Location: | CU |
| Web Views: | 612 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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